Renegade
by xXThe.Black.Parade.Is.DeadXx
Summary: Depths AU, in which Nightwing fakes his death instead of Artemis. Nightwing, going by the codename of Renegade, is determined to take the light down from the inside. Inspired by "Renegade" by Styx. Chapter 4-"I need to tell you something important… it's about Dick."
1. The Renegade

**A/N: So, in one of the reviews for "It Ends Tonight," someone suggested that I write an AU for "Depths." Since it's something I've wanted to do but never got around to it, I told them I would. So, here it is, inspired by the song "Renegade" by Styx.**

* * *

**Chapter 1- The Renegade**

_**Oh Mama, I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law  
Law man has put an end to my running and I'm so far from my home**_

* * *

Nightwing stood from his vantage point atop one of the launch pad structures, observing the press conference.

Originally, he had asked Artemis to come along, but Wally objected to it. He didn't want Artemis to come back to the hero life, and so, she chose not to participate. Nightwing was disappointed, as he had a plan that involved her, but he quickly made some adjustments to it.

Tonight, the team would be in for the shock of their lives.

He had Lagoon Boy in the sea, Miss Martian air, and Superboy and himself on land, giving him maximum coverage. He made sure that the Martian and clone were separated, because he felt that they'd choose right then to not work together.

"There's something wrong with you." Superboy said. It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Hmm?" Nightwing had been deep in thought, so he didn't quite catch what Superboy said.

"You've been acting strangely. Are you feeling okay?" Superboy asked. Superboy was never that good with his words, but there were times when he seemed wiser than what one would think, especially when they've seen how angry he could get.

"Oh, yeah… Just peachy." Nightwing replied, sighing.

In reality, though, Nightwing was incredibly nervous. He wasn't quite at the point of no return, not just yet. He still had time to call off the plan he had set up with the spy he sent into the Light, to either delay the plan or to totally back out altogether. But Nightwing wasn't that kind of person. No, he wasn't one to give up.

So he wouldn't. He would go through with it, even if it _**killed**_ him.

_Whoa… heads up, minnows. We got bad guys._ Lagoon Boy said over the psychic link, _Black Manta's troopers…working some kind of platform beneath the surface just offshore. I'm taking them down!_

_Belay that._ Nightwing ordered, _Wait for backup._

Superboy rolled his eyes. _M'gann, bring the Bioship around. I'll scrounge a rebreather from the cargo hold and help the rookie out._

Anger flared up on Lagoon Boy's end, _**Rookie?!**__ Neptune's beard! I don't need any help from the boy of steel!_

_Lagoon Boy, stand down!_

_Sorry, you're breaking up. Kkkt-kkk!_

Nightwing rolls his eyes, _There's no __**static**__ on a __**psychic link**__!_

La'gann didn't respond, which made Nightwing loose his patience. Sometimes, that guy could really get on his nerves.

_Miss M, bring the Bioship. Give Superboy the controls. Superboy, you take over Miss M's position in the air while she helps Lagoon Boy in the sea._

_Acknowledged._ Miss Martian said.

Superboy simply nodded.

_And Miss M?_

_Yes?_

_Make sure Lagoon Boy knows that he's in deep shit, will you?_

_Will do._

M'gann brought around the Bioship. Conner boarded and looked back at Nightwing. Nightwing saw Manta Troopers were starting to come out of the ocean and onto the land.

_I can handle them for now._ Nightwing said, _I can buy you some time while you get Miss Martian to the sea._

Superboy nodded. _Don't die._

Nightwing gave the clone a smirk that reminded the boy of steel of a certain thirteen-year-old. _Oh, please, I'm the master of not dying._

_Don't jinx yourself._

Conner and M'gann were off. Nightwing shot off his grapple and made his way down the tower. The challenge, though, would be getting over the wall without being shot by a Manta Trooper.

If he were shot, his plan would be ruined.

Missiles were being shot at the rocket.

_Superboy._

_On it._

Superboy shot it down before it could hit the rocket.

Nightwing was about to jump over the wall when a laser missed him by inches. Nightwing promptly scolded himself, muttering "I should've seen that one coming. Dammit, I'm on the wrong side of this wall."

He felt the ground rumble. When he looked behind him, he saw the rocket was preparing to launch. He looked at the sign that read _Warning: Extreme Fire Danger. Blast Area._

"I am **really** on the wrong side of this wall." Nightwing whispered.

Another missile is shot down.

Nightwing took out a small flash bomb and threw it over the wall. It blinded the troopers, giving him enough time to jump over the wall.

Once again, another missile is fired, and, once again, it is shot down.

Nightwing continues to fight alone. His heart rate is speeding up, but not because of the increased activity. It was because the plan was about to go into action.

At this point, there was no turning back. This was the event horizon, the point of no return… and now, Nightwing is scared.

But he's not going to let the others know that.

From behind, he can hear a knife being unsheathed. He smacks the trooper with the knife with his Eskrima sticks. Had he been a second too late, the plan wouldn't have worked.

Nightwing turns around. He sees Kaldur rise from the sea.

"No turning back now." Nightwing whispered.

Nightwing notices that the missiles had stopped. Any minute now, Superboy would be down to help.

"Kaldur, you don't want to do this!" Nightwing yelled.

"I believe I do." Kaldur said.

Kaldur makes a dragon-like creature out of the water and it slams into Nightwing. In the distance, he hears the rocket erupting to life, about to launch.

Kaldur turns to his troopers, "The mission may yet succeed." His armor produces a small missile launcher, which launches a missile at the rocket. Nightwing produces a small bat-a-rang, wishing that Artemis were here, since the arrow would've been far more accurate. He throws the bat-a-rang at the missile, and it connects. There's an explosion, and Nightwing relaxes just a little…

_Nightwing, behind you!_

Nightwing tenses, and he's prepared to attack, when Kaldur turns his water-bearers into daggers.

Nightwing lets out a gasp as the dagger goes through his body. Nightwing can feel the panic of Miss Martian and Superboy in the back of his mind.

The dagger is removed, and Nightwing grasps his wound. He lands on the cold, sandy ground. Kaldur says something, but he doesn't hear it. Kaldur turns and once again sinks into the sea.

The last thing Nightwing hears is the sounds of Superboy and Miss Martian's footsteps as they ran to their fallen comrade.

* * *

Several hours later, a figure dressed in and orange and black costume is in a small warehouse in Bludhaven. He had short black hair and bright eyes. His skin is slightly pale. He looks as though he's waiting for someone, but it's unknown who.

Suddenly, a familiar figure makes her way into the warehouse.

Artemis Crock.

Another on comes in from the opposite direction.

Kaldur.

"Does Wally know you're here, Artemis?" The unknown character asks.

"No… he doesn't." Artemis said. "Dick… why didn't you actually ask me? I could've done this."

"You weren't there when I went to ask you." Dick replied, "He told me that he didn't want you to be involved in this. Technically, he didn't know what we were doing, but I don't think he'd agree, even after I told him."

"And you didn't try again?"

"I was running out of time. I had but one last chance, and unfortunately, this was it." Dick whispered.

"Now, Dick… about your disguise." Kaldur said.

"I know that a new costume won't fool them… that's why I have this." Dick removed a small choker with a little yellow stone on it. "This is a glamour charm. You wouldn't believe how much trouble I had getting one of these out of Jason Blood. Not only that, but I also had to get a magic stone to teleport me out of Mount Justice."

"I would have thought you would ask Zatanna for one." Kaldur said.

"I couldn't involve her in this. She'd hate me if I took advantage of her magic like that." Dick sighed, "I can't believe that it's come to this, Kaldur… sending you behind enemy lines to gather intel… faking my death… but it's to protect those we love."

"Dick…" Artemis said, "Why did you tell me about this? Why not keep it between you and Kaldur?"

"We need someone to keep the team from doing something they'll later regret. If it comes to that, tell them that we're behind enemy lines, that I'm not dead, and that Kaldur isn't a traitor." Dick said, "Artemis… please look after Tim. Make sure that… that he's safe. Please make sure that he'll be okay."

Artemis smiles, "I will Dick, I promise."

Dick put on the glamour charm. He didn't look any different to his friends.

"Um… Dick? I don't think it worked. You look exactly the same."

"Just between us." Dick said, "To everyone else, I'm a completely different person."

To anyone who wasn't there, his ebony hair was now auburn, and his stunning blue eyes were cold, sadistic, and brown. His skin was so pale, it was almost white.

"We must leave, Renegade. The ship will be here any minute." Kaldur said.

Renegade smirked, and in a very convincing accent, said, "Da. And ve must not keep zee Light vaiting."

The two of them leave the warehouse, leaving Artemis behind.

_Good luck, you two._

She left in the opposite direction and went to find the nearest Zeta Tube to go home and tell Wally that his best friend was dead.

* * *

_**Oh Mama I can hear you a cryin', you're so scared and all alone  
Hangman is comin' down from the gallows and I don't have very long**_

* * *

**A/N: Hey, look at that. I went through an entire story without using a Doctor Who refrence.**

**Nightwing: "It's a Russian accent. I was speaking in a Russian accent. Russian accents are cool."**

**DAMMIT, I WAS SO FUCKING CLOSE! NIGHTWING, YOU TROLL! (For the record, yes, Nightwing's little "Russian accents are cool" thing WAS in fact a DW refrence... BOWTIES ARE COOL, TOO!) But, yes, that was a Russian accent I was trying (and failing) to do. As we all know, all the cool supervillains use a Russian accent.**


	2. Trust

**A/N: GUYS. GUYSGUYSGUYS. In case you didn't see, I've added a "Wall O' Homophobic Reviews" to my profile. Why? BECAUSE I GOT MY FIRST HOMOPHOBIC REVIEW TODAY, OF ALL DAYS!**

**Here it is:**

**"UM... CONNER'S NOT GAY! I WILL SERIOUSLY STOP READING THIS! I THOUGHT IT'D BE FRIENDSHIP BUT NOOOO YOU HAD TO GO KISSIE KISSIE! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! I MEAN THEY'RE THE WORST COUPLE EVER! WHO GOT THE FRIKIN IDEA FOR A CONNER/DICK SHIP! I VIL KILLS YOU! YAY SSGBF!"**

**-Some guest called "NOOOO" on "Where's My Wonderland."**

**My Response: Well, "NOOOO," that's your opinion. And it doesn't bother me in the least. So, you're now my first homophobic reviewer :) You should be proud! Your's will be the first on my "Wall o' Homophobic Reviews." Congratulations!**

**I know I sound very cynical, but I'm 100% serious. I don't care if it's April Fool's Day, I'm serious. Alas, I deleted this review, because it was a guest, so I had no way of actually replying, plus, their review only complained about my shipping of Conner and Dick. I don't rag on your ships, you don't rag on mine, okay? I EVEN READ SHIPS I DISPISE, BUT THAT'S ONLY BECAUSE THERE'S NOT ENOUGH OF MY SHIPS/I'VE READ ALL THE SMUTT THERE.**

**EDIT: Made a few corrections thanks to a reviewer that happened to be Russian. Thanks to Alice. Dreamer15.**

**Also, I don't think that there are only cool Russian villains. There's also cool Russian heroes, too. (My favorite is Redstar :D)**

* * *

**Chapter 2- Trust**

_**The jig is up, the news is out  
They finally found me**_

* * *

**Recognized: Kid Flash B03, Artemis B07**

"What happened?" Wally practically yelled from the Zeta Tubes, "What the hell happened to him?"

"Kaldur." Conner simply said.

Wally didn't need to ask for Conner to specify. He knew exactly what Kaldur did. He could tell, just by the way the clone held a maskless Robin, by the way there were tears in everyone's eyes, and what Artemis told him when she ran back to their apartment in tears.

Kaldur murdered Nightwing.

"Where… Where is he now?" Wally asked.

"Medlab."

Wally, Artemis, Conner, and Robin were in the Medlab in a matter of seconds.

Had Nightwing not had a bloody stab wound in his chest, Wally would've just thought his best friend was sleeping. Typically, someone who died the way he did would've shown signs of pain.

But, since Wally was currently too upset to comment, he didn't even give it a little thought.

Robin refused to look at his brother's corpse. This prompted Artemis to go over to him and hold him tightly.

"Robin… I'm so sorry…" She whispered.

Robin made no response.

* * *

"Brother Tommy, I think we're plum crazy the throw in with this feller." Tuppence Terror said, "I mean, it wasn't two years ago Mister Aqualad here was tryin' to lock us back up in Belle Reve."

"Well, sister Tuppence," Tommy Terror began, "Folks say he had a change of heart since finding out who his pappy is."

Icicle Junior smirked, "I hear he switched sides because of some girl. Which I totally get, y'know, if it's the right girl."

Tuppence rolled her eyes, "Ugh, step back, Junior. You're givin' me the chills."

"But in a good way, right, babe?"

"Me, I'm more concerned about this Renegade feller." Tommy said, turning to the male dressed in orange and black. "How come the Terror Twins ain't never heard of him before?"

"You know ve can hear you, _shchenok."_ Renegade spat.

"That we do, mister." Tommy said, "These are open questions, you see."

Renegade chuckled. The Russian villain rose from his seat. "So, vhich one of you vhelps vants to ask open question of Black Manta? Vhich one of you vants to suggest to big bad zat his son and son's handpicked right-hand cannot be trusted?"

Nobody answered.

"Tell me, _muzhlan,_ have you been to zee Arkham Asylum? Have you been imprisoned in cell for a vhile? No fun, no fun at all, Arkham Asylum." Renegade said in a dangerously low voice, "I vas there for great vhile. Spent time vith zee Joker and vife, da. Had to defend self vithout vepons. I learned many tricks, _malen'kiy chelovek_."

A knife- _Where did it come from?_- is suddenly at Tommy's throat.

"I spend time in Bludhaven. Great deal of it. Tell me, have you been to zee Bludhaven? It is terrible place. I could get avay vith anyting in Bludhaven. Zat vhy you never hear of Renegade. Alas, I had great enemy… zee Nightving. Thwarted my plans, da, but could never catch. I vish I vas there to kill him myself." Renegade licked his lips, "Though, I admit, I vould not make it simple… da, make him die painfully. More fun for me."

Renegade took the knife from Tommy's throat.

"I break _monstrami_ bigger den you on daily basis. You do not scare me, man-child. You are no Nightving. Do ve have understanding?"

Tommy nodded.

"Dat vas open question." Renegade shouted. Tuppence and Junior both nodded.

Renegade's smirk became a twisted grin. "Good."

Renegade sat back down in his chair and turned around.

Junior looked back at Tuppence, "Don't look so defeated. I'm here for you, babe."

Tuppence wormed away from Junior's grasp, "Ugh. Will you cut that out?"

"Can't help myself, babe. Been kinda obsessed since the first time I laid eyes on you."

"This **is** the first time you laid eyes on me."

Junior shrugged, "_Technically._ But see, five years ago in Belle Reve, this Martian girl was posing as you-"

"So go give the skeevies to her." Tuppence said, threatening to break his hand. She pushed him off.

Junior looked over at Kaldur and said, "I'm wearing her down."

Renegade made a face that Kaldur, had it been any other moment, would have chuckled at.

"Perhaps we could focus on the mission now." Kaldur said, "We are closing on our target."

* * *

Bart and Jaime had been playing around when they attacked them.

Tuppence had attacked Blue from behind, causing the destruction of Impulse's "masterpiece." Renegade had then attacked Impulse, who dodged and attacked Tommy.

_Big mistake, Bart._ Renegade thought. He stopped himself from helping the teen, knowing it'd blow his cover.

Renegade threw a net at Bart, which had no use. _Right, forgot… Bart can vibrate out of it…_

Blue was frozen, but it didn't last long at all. But it was all a part of the plan.

Once Impulse grabbed the device, Kaldur had produced a second one, and they were once again tracking the two.

* * *

**Recognized: Blue Beatle B22, Impulse B23**

"Haha! Left them in the dust!" Impulse called out.

"Left who in the dust?"

There stood Artemis and Wally, eyeing the two. Since Nightwing's death, both Wally and Artemis rejoined the team.

"And what is that?" Wally asked, pointing at the device.

"Souvenir!" Bart said.

"Uh, Souvenirs are Beast Boy's thing, ese."

"Oh really? I thought it was Kid Flash-"

"Get on with it!" Artemis said.

"Uh, sorry. Aqualad attacked us with Icicle Junior, the Terror Twins, and some other guy we didn't know." Jaime said.

"This is how they tracked Blue. I made sure they couldn't do it again." Bart added.

"So you brought foreign, possibly alien tech into the cave? Didn't Nightwing…" Wally still couldn't say his codename without pausing "Didn't Nightwing tell you that you shouldn't do that? Rookie mistake."

Wally sighed. _What would Nightwing do about this?_

"Alright, give it here. I'll see what we can do with it." Wally said.

Bart handed over the device, not knowing what danger he had just put them in.

* * *

_**The renegade who had it made  
Retrieved for a bounty**_

* * *

**A/N: I SHIP CONNER AND DICK. I SHIP CONNER AND DICK. I SHIP CONNER AND DICK. I SHIP CONNER AND DICK. I SHIP CONNER AND DICK. I SHIP CONNER AND DICK. I SHIP CONNER AND DICK. I SHIP CONNER AND DICK. I SHIP CONNER AND DICK. I SHIP CONNER AND DICK. I SHIP CONNER AND DICK.**

**And you know what?**

**I'm proud of it ^^**


	3. Sneak Attack

**A/N: To anyone that follows "Taste of Insanity," I will be rewriting it at somepoint. However, due to marching band, it might not happen until late October/early November. Sorry.**

* * *

**Chapter 3- Sneak Attack**

_**Never more to go astray**_

* * *

As Kaldur had said, the device hacked into Mount Justice's security system and disabled it. So, sneaking in was relatively easy. Renegade had put an inhibitor collar on Wolf (but not before looking down on the genetically altered canine sadly), and moved on do what he needed to next.

Thanks to Renegade's hacking skills, they were able to tell who was in Mount Justice at the time. Beast Boy, Superboy, Kid Flash, Artemis, Impulse, and Blue Beatle were the only ones there, so they were each assigned to a few people. Tuppence went after Beast Boy, while Tommy and Icicle Junior had Superboy. The rest could be handled fairly easily.

* * *

Kid Flash was never that great with technology. Sure, he was still pretty good, especially when compared to his parents, but there were a few things he couldn't do. Hacking, translating alien languages, knowing which buttons to press at what time… those were just things he could never truly get a grasp of.

_Man, if only Nightwing were here now… he knows a lot more about this than me…_

Nightwing. The thought of his best friend made him feel guilty. Wally had said no to sending his girlfriend on a mission, and because of that, he was dead. It was because he didn't let Artemis answer the question herself that the former boy wonder ended up dying at the hands of the original leader of their team.

God, some best friend he was.

Suddenly, a shrill beeping comes from the holo-computer. Kid Flash curses, "Aw, I'm an idiot!"

Artemis was about to say something snarky, when Superboy was launched from across the room and knocked her and Kid Flash to the ground.

From above, Icicle Junior shot off beams of ice that made its way towards Impulse and Kid Flash, who had helped Artemis off the ground.

"Oh, this one's a classic!" Impulse said, "Ice over the floor, the speedster can't get traction, right?" Impulse and Kid Flash worked their way around the ice and attacked Icicle Junior. Junior was sent flying into a wall.

"Wrong." Kid Flash said.

_Never thought I'd say this, but I did kinda miss the hero life…_

Impulse and Kid Flash see Tuppence with Beast boy thrown over her shoulder. "That worked so nice, I'll try it twice!" Impulse said.

"Impulse, wait!" Kid Flash's warning went ignored, as the younger sprinted towards Tuppence Terror. He crashed into her, and he bounced off of the blonde like a ball against a wall.

_Well, he calls himself Impulse for a reason…_

Impulse was caught by Tommy Terror, who gave him a sick grin. The brunette punched rapidly at the older, much more intimidating blonde.

"Ah! My hands! What are you made of?!"

"Snips and snails and puppy dog tails."

An inhibitor collar is around Impulse's neck.

"Ah, nice try, but I'll just vibrate right out of this-"

The brunette tried to vibrate out, but he couldn't, as all of his abilities were now gone.

"No speed… I'm moded, aren't I?"

A punch to the face silences the brunette.

Meanwhile, Artemis and Kid Flash were fighting Renegade. The villain, who was obviously highly trained, fought the two of them at once without a problem. It was almost as though he was taunting them.

"You bore me." Renegade sighs, "I vould have thought zat Baby Flash and Arrow Girl vould put up bigger fight."

"Oh, come on, it's _**Kid**_ Flash! What is so hard about that?!" Kid Flash asked.

"Not a good time, Kid Mouth… and it's Artemis, pretty boy." Artemis snarled.

"Vell, _Artemis,_ I vas hoping for better fight. You are not skilled fighter like Nightving vas." Renegade said.

Kid Flash punched Renegade in the jaw. "You have no right to talk about him!"

"Ah, zat right… Nightving vas member of team, da?" A chuckle was heard from the villain, "Until he die on beach. Died fighting… but zat vat make it fun to kill. If I vere at zat place at zat time, Nightving vould be unrecognizable."

Another punch, but this time from Artemis. Mentally, the blonde apologized (god, making it look good was tough), and she wondered how the teen could stand to insult himself.

Renegade soon had an inhibitor collar around Kid Flash's neck, and knocked the speedster unconscious with a shock.

Renegade smirks, "Van down, van to go."

Quicker than she can blink, Artemis is on the ground, with Renegade kneeling on top of her. She finds an inhibitor collar on her, but she chuckles.

"Sorry, pretty boy… no superpowers for your collar to turn off." Artemis's legs tangle around Renegade's neck and he's slammed into the ground. Artemis picks herself up, and suddenly, the collar shocks her. The archer screams and falls to the ground.

Blue Beatle is prepared to blast at Renegade when Kaldur yells "Stand down!"

Blue Beatle says something that Kaldur couldn't quite understand, since he was up in the air. "This battle is over."

Blue gets ready to shoot. "I don't think so, traitor!"

"Then rethink, Beatle." Kaldur sets the duffle he had in his arm down on the ground. "This is the same type of bomb that obliterated Malina Island. I am holding down the dead man's switch. If my thumb comes off this button, for any reason, Mount Justice falls."

Blue Beatle, realizing that, while he could survive the blast, his friends could not, came down. "We're standing down."

Tommy placed an inhibitor collar on Blue Beatle.

"Wise choice." Kaldur said.

Junior made a ramp out of ice and slid down it. "I'm fine, by the way."

"Good. Escort Beast boy, Impulse, and Blue Beatle to the flier."

"Vhat about zese three?" Renegade asked, motioning towards Artemis, Kid Flash, and Superboy.

"As hostages here, they have value." Kaldur said, "But Artemis is an ordinary human. Superboy, a human-Kryptonian hybrid clone. Neither category is of interest to our Partner. As for Kid Flash, he is a speedster, but cannot travel at the speed Impulse can, and taking another speedster with us would be redundant."

Artemis stood up, "Aqualad, you'll regret this!"

Kaldur approached Artemis. He punched her in the stomach.

"I believe I have outgrown the name Aqualad, as well as anything resembling regret." Kaldur walked away from Artemis. When he was a good could feet away, he turned back and said, "I will leave the bomb with you, as a souvenir. Oh, and the dead man's switch has a five mile range. Do **not** pursue."

* * *

The group of villains escorted the kidnapped members out of the mountain. Renegade was in the very back, so nobody noticed when he took a second glance at Mount Justice.

_I'm so sorry…_

"What? No! You can't!"

Blue Beatle's voice brought Renegade from his thoughts. A blow to the face sends him flying.

And attack aimed towards Kaldur sends him flying, and the dead man's switch falls from his hands…

"No!"

_Silence._

"You were right…" Blue says, "It was a bluff! Get 'em!"

Blue Beatle lunges at Kaldur, but a magical attack (and sedatives) takes him out.

"I was not certain that would work." Kaldur said, "But it seems Beatle is indeed vulnerable to mystic energy… and sedatives. Bring him aboard."

* * *

Once aboard, Beast Boy and Impulse regain consciousness.

Tommy growls, "I can't believe we didn't end Superboy when we had the chance."

"Boss fish still has a soft spot for his old team." Junior said.

Kaldur looked over at Renegade. "Do it."

Renegade lowered the half-cowl. In Kaldur's eyes, he could see dark black locks and hurt electric blue eyes. "You sure?"

"Do it." Kaldur repeats, not looking the younger in the eye.

A sigh escapes from Renegade as he presses the detonator. An explosion is heard, along with gasps from Beast boy and Impulse.

Neither one of them dares to take another look at Mount Justice as they fly away.

* * *

The flier was once again docked at Bludhaven. Kaldur said that he and Renegade has business to take care of, and that it wouldn't take long.

In reality, he and Dick needed to stop, for just a moment, and breathe.

"Kal… do you… do you think they got out okay?" Dick asked. The glamour charm was taken off, and instead of dark auburn hair and sadistic brown eyes, was soft black hair and deep blue eyes.

"I believe so… I am sure Artemis managed to get them out without any problems." Kaldur said.

Kaldur knew this was difficult for the former boy wonder. He didn't want it to go this far, but he had no other choice.

"I hope so… God, I had hoped that 'murdering' me would be enough, but it seemed that it wasn't."

Kaldur placed a hand on the younger's shoulder. "As you yourself have said many times over, it is what we do. There are times when we have no other choice. My friend, this is difficult for everyone, and if they knew, then I am sure they would agree that there are times when you must do the unexpected. It is a shame we could not tell anyone else…"

Dick chuckled, "I wouldn't be surprised if Artemis told Wally. He and I may not have been seeing eye to eye for the past year, but we'll always be bros."

Kaldur smiled. Even in this position, Dick still found a way to remain optimistic.

"We must go. If we keep them waiting any longer, they will get suspicious. Do you have the sample of Titan?"

Dick nodded, holding up a small vial of green liquid. He put it in a small compartment in his black utility belt and put the glamour charm back on, becoming Renegade to anyone other than Kaldur or Artemis.

"Arianna vas more zen villing to gif me zee sample… vas even happier to gif sample of veaker version of Titan. So veak, in fact, it have no effect on anyvan, and cancel out Blockbuster or Venom effects. But zey don't need to know zis…"

* * *

_**This'll be the end today  
Of the wanted man**_

* * *

**A/N: I think I'm improving on my Russian accent.**


	4. Brothers

**A/N: Okay, guys... around late May, updates will be getting kinda slow, and in August will stop all together, since I'll be busy with marching band. So, this may end up being one of the stories on hiatus, along with "Head Like a Hole" and "Move Along." Hopefully, I'll have "Liar" done before that, but I can say for sure "Where's My Wonderland" won't be done before my yearly marching band hiatus. Oh, and this hiatus will typically last until early November, or, if we're lucky, late October. Sorry, guys!**

**(Also, I'm now accepting beta requests. Since I only have a month of freedom left, though, I will only beta one-, two-, or three-shots. I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY BETA REQUESTS AFTER MAY 20!)**

* * *

**Chapter 4- Brothers**

_**Oh Mama, I've been years on the lam and had a high price on my head  
Lawman said 'Get him dead or alive' and it's for sure he'll see me dead**_

* * *

Wally was pacing back and forth on the floor of the Hall of Justice. Artemis cleaned her arrows in an attempt to calm down.

Both were failing miserably at trying to calm down.

"Okay, we need to talk!" Wally said. He stopped pacing and took the arrow away from his girlfriend. Artemis didn't fight back because, in reality, she knew they needed to talk.

"First, Dick was killed by Kaldur, then he and his new partner attack the mountain and kidnap my cousin and the other freshmen, and now we don't have a base of operations! Artemis, what else is going to happen to us? Who else is going to betray us? Who else is going to be taken away from us in order to be experimented on or tortured or worse? Who else… Who else is going to die?"

"Wally… it's not as bad as-"

Wally cut off his girlfriend, "No, Artemis, it **is**that bad! Hell, it's worse than that! Those kids didn't deserve being captured! Kaldur didn't deserve finding out who his real father was, but he went far enough to betray us! And Dick… Artemis, Dick _**didn't **_deserve to die. I was angry at him for even suggesting that you go on a mission with the team when he knew we were retired, but I had no idea that this would happen. I had no idea that not letting you answer your own question would end up killing my best friend."

There was a pang of guilt that hit Artemis, but she didn't let it show.

"Wally-"

"Dick… he left a lot of people behind, Artemis. Me, you, Barbara, Tim… oh, god, we had to put Tim on _**suicide watch**_. And-"

"**Wally!**_"_

Wally shut his mouth and looked at Artemis with guilt-filled green eyes. The archer knew there was only one thing to do at this time.

"I need to tell you something important… it's about Dick."

Wally made no response, prompting Artemis to continue.

"When you told me that you said no to him about a mission for me, I went to find him and talk to him. I found him in the middle of patrolling in Bludhaven, standing on top of the police department building. I had to dress in my old costume in order to make it look less suspicious to any civilians, and we talked. He told me that everything was fine, that he took care of it, but I wanted to know what he wanted me for. It took me a while, and I refused to stop bugging him about it, and… he said Kaldur wasn't a traitor. I told him that he most certainly was, since he had nearly killed Dick when he betrayed us. Then, he told me that Kaldur was actually on a deep cover mission assigned by him."

"But… Kaldur killed him! He stabbed Dick and-"

"That was fake, too. Dick let me in on it because I wouldn't stop snooping. He told me that he created an alter ego, known only as the Renegade… the guy that attacked us with Kaldur, the Terror Twins, and Icicle Junior. From what he told me, he took over a very small drug ring as Renegade and kept a low-ish profile a few months in advance… kind of like Matches Malone." Artemis said, "He told me it was his back-up plan, in case I didn't want to do it. It was too late to change his mind, so I was the only one who knew outside of him and Kaldur. _Was._"

Wally didn't say anything for a few minutes. His best friend was _alive_. His little brother was still out there somewhere, fighting the good fight from within the Light and Reach. He found it difficult to express his relief…

…But that relief quickly morphed into anger. "Artemis… why would you hide this from me? How could you do this to me? I thought we told each other everything!"

Artemis expected this from Wally, and she didn't blame him in the least.

"My best friend, my brother, is alive, and I wanted to kill Kaldur, another one of my closest friends! You were in on it, and you didn't tell me! Why?"

"Dick said the fewer people that knew about this, the better." Artemis said, "I knew it, but I had such a hard time making it look good, just as Dick and Kaldur did. You couldn't see it because the glamour charm created by Jason Blood made slight, subtle changes to his appearance, but I could see _Dick Grayson_, not _Dimitri Kovalik_ or whatever the hell Renegade's goddamn alter ego is. I saw _Nightwing_, not _Renegade_. And I could see the agony in his eyes, just like I could see agony in Kaldur's. Behind the cold-hearted, insane sadist that is Renegade, the one we hate so much for mocking our 'dead' friend, is the kind-hearted, equally insane troll that is Nightwing, the one we can't help but dote over even if he only as a small scratch. Behind that son of a bitch that flirts with every damn thing that moves is our not-so-little brother that… well, okay, Dick still flirts with a lot of people, but even I have to admit it's adorable when he does it."

Wally nodded. Artemis' mini-rant brought back the memory of the undercover mission at HIVE, and how the team blew their cover quickly.

"Artemis… while I do see Dick's reasoning behind this, and, since the HIVE incident, I do agree about making sure fewer people know about this, I think we should at least tell Tim. I mean, the poor kid's on suicide watch because Dick's 'death' really got to him. Even with Barbara and Conner watching over him, he could still do something he'll regret."

Artemis nodded, "Yeah… we should. I'll have him come over to our place tomorrow and tell him."

* * *

Tim had come over early the next morning in his civvies, without the sunglasses. He had a couple scratches here and there, so Artemis and Wally guessed that he had just come from patrol. Tim didn't smile, nor give a monotonous "hello" like he had been doing since Dick's "death." Instead, he almost knocked Artemis over when he gave her a tight hug. The third boy wonder looked like he was about to cry. This reminded her of when Dick was still Robin and he'd have a nightmare, and Artemis would be there to comfort the younger along with Wally. Artemis kissed Tim's forehead, saying that she had something important to tell him.

"Tim, I'm not supposed to tell anyone this, but I think it's something you should hear." Artemis said. Tim glanced up at her. Artemis led the fourteen-year-old to the couch and said, "Dick isn't dead."

Tim's blue eyes (if she didn't know Dick and Tim were adopted, she would've thought they were blood-related) widened. Suddenly, his mind was working faster than Wally's feet, questioning what Artemis had just told him. "How? Was there a Lazarus pit involved? Black magic? Or-"

Artemis gave a small smile, "Uh, no, Tim… Dick's death was faked. As in, y'know, Kaldur's still a good guy, and Dick is now undercover as his right-hand man."

Tim nodded. He found it difficult to say anything, considering the fact that he really wasn't expecting it (Bruce would have his head if he were there). His brother was alive! But there were still some unanswered questions…

"Conner said he saw Kaldur stab Dick, and he said that he didn't hear a heartbeat or breathing. How did he do that? And we knew it was Dick's body when they brought him to us, and not a dummy, because I checked. How did he escape without being noticed? And-"

"Tim, you're adorable, and I think you're a great kid, but you need to slow down with the questions." Wally said. Really, he was expecting Tim to be _angry_, not _fascinated_. Of course, Tim was the genius Robin, just as Dick was the hyperactive Robin and Jason was the violent Robin, so the boy wonder needed to understand what was happening.

"Look who's talking." Artemis said, "Now, as for those questions… I'm pretty sure Dick explained what his plan was to me, but it was a lot of technobabble, so I was kinda lost after 'so, here's the plan.' Really, all I heard was 'glamour charm from Jason Blood,' 'practically suicide,' and 'Russian accents are cool.' I guess those questions will have to wait until he gets back."

"Hold up- he's on a _**suicide mission**_?" Tim asked.

"Well… not exactly… but given the fact that he's infiltrating the Light, and the fact that the Light's new enforcer, Deathstroke, has a really big grudge against him, there's a chance that, if he and Kaldur are discovered to be double agents, it could end badly."

Tim gulped. He knew his brother could take care of himself, but he still couldn't help but worry.

Artemis sensed this and pulled the younger into a tight hug. "He'll be fine. As long as you don't let anyone in on this, and you make it look good, he'll be fine. I promise you, he'll come back alive and well, and everything will be fine."

Tim nodded. "I don't doubt his abilities, Artie… but Ra's al Ghūl knows his fighting style, and Deathstroke has his ways…"

"I know. He's made preparations for that." Artemis said, "Now, remember, you can't tell a soul… not unless it gets too bad and people are close to using lethal force. I… I know what losing someone can do to a person."

Tim nodded, knowing very well what she meant.

When Tim left Artemis and Wally's home, a small smile formed on his lips.

Dick Grayson, Tim's older brother, was _alive_, and hopefully would be coming home sooner than later.

* * *

_**Dear Mama I can hear you cryin', you're so scared and all alone  
Hangman is comin' down from the gallows and I don't have very long**_

* * *

**A/N: Ah, Timmy, you worry too much... BUT THAT MAKES YOU SO ADORABLE!**

**(Although Dick still has a nicer ass than you... lol whut)**


End file.
